Staking a Claim
by I am hurricane
Summary: A one-shot about Malia missing Stiles after their first breakup in 4x07 and her trying to work out why he lied to her about Peter.


Malia missed the look of surprise in his eyes just before she unexpectedly kissed him. She physically ached for the sight of his big brown eyes. She missed how the moles on his fair skin, made him look both boyish and irresistible. She missed how his hand would always find hers in the dark. And how he was completely clueless that it was the light brushes of his fingertips across her palm that drove her wild for him. She missed how he could always tell when she was cold, and how he'd always keep a spare sweater lying around for her. She missed the smile he'd flash at her whenever she would suggest he should warm her up in a more primitive way.

She missed his inexplicable bursts of confidence and timidity. She loved how gentle he was. She missed his fierce loyalty and protective instincts, she was the killer the coyote capable of wrecking him yet he put himself between her and danger without hesitation. She read it as instinct the first moment she saw it. Cognitively, he knew she was physically powerful and capable in any fight in most instances, even more so than him, but instinctively he would cover her. She saw him wrestle with it frequently.

She missed pressing her face into the warmth of his shoulder blades and leaching heat from his body. She missed the way he would occasionally catch her off guard kissing her or stroking her cheek affectionately after she said or did something that he found sweet, though she rarely ever knew what she did to earn it.

She missed the sound of his voice. How he would nervously ramble when she looked at him beneath her lashes with predatory eyes. And yet at other times it was him crowding her with his body, eyes full of heat and teeth grazing her skin. She missed how his heartbeat picked up whenever she stepped into a room, or climbed in through his window. She relished in his sweetness and warmth, his passion and intelligence but also in his strength. She loved the feel of his shoulders beneath her hands, and the cords of muscle that flexed in his arms.

She missed Stiles plain and simple. The girl misses her boyfriend, while the coyote beneath her skin cries out for her mate. He is incapable of hearing it which only doubles her anguish. Stiles smells of distrust and anger whenever he speaks of Peter Hale. He feared for her being near him from the first mention of him. Not because he fears Peter would mould or corrupt her like she first assumed, but rather that Peter would disappoint or worse endanger her. He had been right on both counts.

Worse of all, Malia worries that he is no longer hers. That Lydia has won him since their breakup. That she finally realized what Malia has always known, ever since the basement of Eichen House, where his hand never left hers. That there was no one worthier than Stiles.

At first she had been threatened by Lydia Martin and how his big brown eyes had followed her with affection and hopefulness. Then Malia decided that she didn't like the way he looked at Lydia, so she had made a point of climbing through his window and staking a claim. A claim which had startled Stiles, but one which he eagerly reciprocated.

Afterward, she was gratified to notice that his interest in her was unchallenged by his former unrequited feelings. Whenever she approached she could smell his affection, excitement and even his pride whenever she would nudge his shoulder, lean on his arm or entwine their fingers. But she is now haunted not by the warm alluring scent of his love but the harsh coppery scent of his pain and disappointment.

Stiles had been unfair. He had kept the truth from her. As furious as it made her. That this sweet curious boy had made her feel so incredibly stupid. She knew how Stiles operated. He wasn't cruel or selfish. He hadn't told her so he could keep her close…and because he thought he was keeping her safe. In a way he had been trying to stake his own claim. And she made him feel awful for it. In the wild you go after what you want…you can't hesitate or you will never catch your prey.

Stiles didn't want her around Peter, he wanted her all to himself. So he had taken steps to keep her. It was something she herself was guilty of. Maybe what hurt is that Stiles himself had been teaching her to talk. To not try and force things so much as tell him what she wanted. And he was always incredibly accommodating.

Now she understands that it was the trick that stung. If Stiles had just told her what he feared, what he wanted, and looked at her with those brown eyes and his messy hair spilling over his forehead. She probably would have pushed him up against the nearest wall and kissed him senseless. She imaged the thrill that would course through her if she actually heard those words from him.

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 **Author's Note: This is something I wrote a couple years ago when I was watching season four but never posted. I found it on my computer and decided to post it because there needs to be more Stalia in this world. P.S. if you have any stalia fics that your sitting on, POST THEM! The world needs more Stalia...especially to get us through this week lol. #ichosestalia**


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